Less than 16 hours after a 4-0 win that saw spectacular performances from the Starting 11, Wolves took on Levante in a “practice match” that featured a blend of under 23s and a few first-team players. Wolves lost 2-1 in a match that will have people talking more about the fights during the game over the actual football played.
Jackson Smith
Smith, a goalkeeper for the U23 side, was not asked to do much during the match. The defenders did not pass back to him often and Levante did not have a consistent attacking presence to ask questions of him. He did let in two goals, the first a one-on-one and the second was a very well-hit strike. He did show poise getting off his line at times, but overall it was an average performance.
5/10
Hugo Bueno
Bueno, another U23, had a similar performance. He was well positioned throughout, navigating his way up and down the left flank with ease. He showed some good ideas on the ball but did get careless a few times.
6/10
Toti Gomes
It was a hot and cold performance for Toti. Overall he looked solid, showing composure on the ball, but seemingly tripped, allowing a ball in behind him for the first Levante goal. He made up for his earlier error, scoring on a corner kick in the waning moments.
7/10
Nathan Collins
Collins looked great in the first half in a hybrid role of the middle of a back three and the right centre back in a back four. He showed control of the offence, rattling off a range of passes. In the second half, he did not show as much, but I’m going to choose to remember his first half.
7/10
Yerson Mosquera
Mosquera started the match in an advanced role. He was looking great on the ball and boasted great vision, spotting passing lanes. It would have been great for him to have kept his composure, but he had been hit by multiple late tackles so it is hard to blame him too much for his red card in the 35th minute.
6/10
Theo Corbeanu
Corbeanu started the match at right winger/wingback. He struggled on the ball, losing the ball multiple times. He looked better in an attacking role in the second half, showing good runs even though he was not targeted often.
5/10
Connor Ronan
My favourite performance of the morning. Ronan, who started in a deeper midfield role, looked comfortable conducting the attack. His movement was terrific and with the ball, he showed good dribbling and accurate passing. He also provided a great delivery on a corner kick led to Gomes’ goal.
9/10
Luke Cundle
It was a relatively silent performance from Cundle. He played more advanced, but the relatively quiet Wolves’ attack resulted in him not receiving the ball often. When he had the ball, he is quite good though.
5/10
Leander Dendoncker
I would’ve liked to have seen Dendoncker assert himself more in a midfield that lacked experience. He played a rather safe performance other than a long shot and an attempted chip pass into the 18.
5/10
Daniel Podence
The first 20 or so minutes of the match were highlighted by the chemistry between Podence and Morgan Gibbs-White. Podence seamlessly switched sides and his pass led to the indirect free kick. He was not able to contribute to a goal, but every time Podence touched the ball he tried to make something happen. Similar to Mosquera, it would have been great to see him keep his cool, but Podence being sent off for fighting was the least surprising event of the match.
6/10
Morgan Gibbs-White
Throughout the match, Gibbs-White showed a fantastic work rate. Similar to Podence, he showed a real effort to ask questions of defenders while also making an impact in dropping back on the defensive end. While Wolves didn’t create many genuine chances, MGW showed promise in a striker-type role.
7/10
Willy Boly
Boly came on in the second half and played well. His movement and willingness to push the ball up the field were strong throughout his 40 minutes. He overextended on the ball at times, one of them creating space behind the defence leading to the second Levante goal, but overall good performance.
7.5/10
Conor Coady
Coady did a good job covering for the more aggressive Boly. He had a few good passes and tackles, but overall it wasn’t a noteworthy half.
5/10
Harvey Griffiths
Griffiths did not try to do too much in his cameo, but overall seemed competent on the ball and showed good movement.
5/10
Joe Hodge
Hodge showed a good work rate and had some good dribble moves, but similar to Griffiths didn’t try to do too much.
5.5/10
Dexter Lembikisa
Flashed some good runs down the right-hand side, but did not get targeted often. He had a failed clearance that resulted in the second Levante goal.
4/10